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Sunday hospital admissions 'a bigger risk'

NHS Choices Behind the Headlines, 2012

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Patients admitted to hospital on Sundays were more likely to die
A new study has found that “patients are more likely to die in hospital if they are admitted at the weekend,” according to BBC News.
The broadcaster said the research backs up previous studies suggesting patients admitted at the weekend have a lower chance of survival.
The new study in question looked at over 14 million admissions to English NHS hospitals over the financial year of 2009/10.
Researchers looked at risk of patients dying from any cause within 30 days of admission, taking into account various other factors that could influence the risk, such as age, reason for admission, and other medical illnesses.
During the year there were 187,337 deaths that occurred within 30 days of admission, equating to 1.3% of all those hospitalised.
When they looked at factors associated with risk they found a person admitted on a Sunday had 16% increased risk of dying following admission compared to a person admitted on a Wednesday.
While the study has found a pattern relating to admission day and the risk of dying, the reasons for this are unknown and it should not be assumed that the pattern is due to staffing levels or the availability of senior staff.
There could be various reasons for the relationship; for example, it may be that people who need to see the doctor and be admitted on a weekend have more severe illness than people who would wait until the following Monday to be admitted.
While this very large study has found a pattern, it will take further delving to unlock the reasons why, which are likely to be more complex than simply the availability of staff.